


Cookies

by sweetbutterbliss



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek, Baking, Emissary Stiles Stilinski, F/M, First Kiss, Full Shift Werewolves, Humor, Jealousy, M/M, Mating Rituals, Oblivious, Oblivious Derek, Oblivious Stiles, Pack Dynamics, Pining, Pining Derek, Sassy Peter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-18
Updated: 2016-06-18
Packaged: 2018-07-15 19:21:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7235293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetbutterbliss/pseuds/sweetbutterbliss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erica and Boyd attempt to woo each other with baked goods and questionable dating advice from their Alpha. </p><p>(also oblivious Sterek) </p><p>or Peter knows everything, when are you people going to start trusting him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cookies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kiti_the_Warrior_Poet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiti_the_Warrior_Poet/gifts).



> This is for @Kiti-the-Warrior-Poet. They wanted "EveryOneLivesNothingHurts!au where Boyd and/or Erica asks Derek "the-born-wolf" about werewolf courting customs in order to woo the other half of Berica." I hope you like it! 
> 
> Beta'd as always by the lovely Heather.

Erica parked in the long dusty driveway of the Hale House and stared up at its imposing facade. For someone who grew up in a small rental home, the rebuilt mansion that loomed out of the woods was always going to be capitalized in her head. Like Monticello or Falling Water. 

Even though Derek must've known she was there she still sat, inhaling and exhaling methodically, counting her breaths and working up the nerve to go inside. She rolled her lips together in the rear view mirror, smoothing out her lipstick, and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. 

The door was never locked because Stiles had warded the place up to its eyeballs against enemies. Watching him mutter and draw chalk squiggles on the walls had been kind of hot; her old crush had briefly flared up, but she had bigger fish to fry now.

"Alpha, my alpha."

"Erica," Derek leaned against the counter, wiping his hands on a towel, his eyebrows drawn together in a frown. "I've asked you to stop calling me that. It's weird."

"But aren't we the type of friends who get to have fun nicknames?" she jumped up to sit on the counter beside his hip and wiggled a bit to adjust her skirt.

"No."

Erica pretended to pout, studiously ignored by Derek.

"Are you hungry? I can make food," Derek sounded as though he was reading from a script, and she smothers a smile. He was trying so hard to be a better alpha and she was pretty sure a lot of that was Stiles' doing. He probably even told Derek exactly what to say to guests.

"Uh sure. If you're eating."

"Yeah. Grilled cheese?"

She blinked at him before nodding. It's such an average dish. She still kind of expected him to eat a bloody deer he'd dragged in from the woods. She watched him as he grabbed the stuff out of the fridge, enjoying the view as he bent over to retrieve a frying pan from a lower cabinet.

"So. I have a question. A...werewolfy question."

Derek rolled his eyes but gestured at her to continue with his spatula.

"So, it's about dating. I was wondering..."

She stopped talking as soon as she noticed Derek tensing up, his frowning deepening further. "Erica. You know I think you're, um...very attractive in your own way. And you're a very nice girl. Well, no, I guess you're not really nice. But I like you anyway. Just...not in that way."

"In my own way?! What's that supposed to mean?" she squawked.

"I don't know what it means! Damn it, I thought we already talked about this!" he pulled at his hair in frustration.

"I wouldn't say you throwing me across a train station after I kissed you counts as 'talking.' " She made air quotes at him, just in case he didn't get how stupid he sounded. "Anyway, I wasn't talking about you. Conceited much?" 

"Oh. Right. Sorry," Derek relaxed his shoulders and tried to smile at her, but settled somewhere around queasy.

"Your sandwiches are burning," she kicked her heels against the counter, grinning. "I think that's the most I've ever heard you say at once. You've been hanging out with Stiles for too long." 

"What? No I haven't. Why would I do that?" Derek mumbled.

"Right. Anyway. I want to know about werewolf courting rituals." 

"Werewolf. Courting. Rituals," Derek stared at her, a grilled cheese balanced precariously on his spatula. 

"Yeah. How do they date or whatever?" she shrugged and looked down at her lap, feeling bashful all of a sudden.

"Here," Derek handed her a plate with the sandwich cut into four squares, like she was a little kid, and she couldn't help but smile up at him. 

"Thanks." 

Derek heaved a sigh and swallowed. "My mom didn't talk about that kind of stuff much. I guess she thought she'd have time."

"Oh, Derek. I'm sorry. You don't have to talk about it."

"No. It's okay. It's good to talk about them sometimes. She would've liked you, I think."

Erica quietly ate her sandwich, feeling a bloom of warmth in her chest.

"All I know is from watching Laura and my other cousins."

"Okay, lay it on me," she dusted off her hands and sat up straighter, ready to be imparted with her alpha's minimal wisdom.

Derek took a deep breath and exhaled it out before he nodded solemnly and began to talk.

***

Boyd hadn't really known Erica before. Just peripherally, like everyone did. Which meant he didn't know her at all. But he liked to watch her now, liked how she'd seek him out to roll her eyes at during pack meetings, how she takes his hand to pull him out of a room, always assuming he'll be on her side. 

And he is. He'd let her drag him around anywhere if it meant he got to enfold her small hand in his own big one. He wasn't great at separating the wolf from himself, he'd always been wary and watchful, but he knew that Erica smelled like chocolate chip cookies and his Grandma's apron when he was small; he just didn't know what to do about it.

He found Derek glaring at a book of fabric swatches that Lydia had dropped off earlier. 

"I told her brown was fine. Why are there so many different types of brown?" he asked plaintively, but Boyd just shrugged.

"I like that one," he pointed at a square that was golden brown and glowed a little in the sunlight.

"Yeah," Derek tilted it back, squinting at it. "Me too. It reminds me of something." 

"Right. Can't imagine what," Boyd rolled his eyes at his alpha's obliviousness. 

"Me neither," Derek marked the place in the book and dropped it onto the couch. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I switched up the rotation for the perimeter checks. Thought we shouldn't keep things too routine." 

"Thanks. Good idea," Derek nodded, but when Boyd didn't say anything else, he raised his eyebrows. 

"So, I have a question about werewolf dating?" Boyd shoved his hands in his pockets and scuffed his boot against the floor.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I thought as your second that I should know these things. It's important I know about werewolf stuff. Right?"

"Right. Sure," Derek's mouth ticked up at the corner and he gestured for Boyd to sit down.

"I can only tell you what I saw. My mom really never talked about it."

"Okay, lay it on me."

Derek laughed a little, shaking his head. 

***

'Operation Mates' began with cookies. Derek had said the wolf wanted to know their mate could provide for them. And Erica was positive Mama Boyd wouldn't be pleased if she left a bloody carcass on the porch. Also. Gross.

So, cookies. She printed out a recipe from Martha Stewart, 'cause if anybody knew cookies it was that lady. 

Erica hadn't ever baked before but she could read directions. She decided to do it at the Hale house so it'd be a little subtle, she didn't want to just shove a box of cookies at Boyd in front of everyone. Derek had raised an eyebrow at her when she showed up with her hands full of groceries, but still waved her into the kitchen with a smile. 

Stiles was already there, his papers spread out over the kitchen table. 

"Hey, Catwoman," he smiled at her around the pen clamped between his teeth.

"Hey, Batman," she squinted at her recipe and sighed. Stiles stood up and leaned over her shoulder.

"You're making cookies! I love cookies."

"Everyone loves cookies, Stiles," Derek pulled a mixer out of the cabinet above his head, laughing when Stiles stuck his tongue out.

"I can help! I'm a whiz at licking the spoons." 

"That's gross, Stiles." 

She smacked his hands away from the bag of chocolate chips, not remotely surprised when Derek growled a little. He looked startled at himself, his ears flushing red.

"Do you need help?" he clears his throat.

"NO!" 

They both froze, looking at her with wide eyes. 

"I just. I want to do it myself."

"Oooookay," Stiles held up his hands and retreated back to his books, as Derek disappeared somewhere into the living room with a huff.

***

Something was wrong. The cookies had exploded. There were bits of half cooked dough baking onto the oven walls. Erica shrieked and opened the oven door, pulling out the pan. In her panic she forgot a glove and dropped the whole sheet, clutching her hand. She felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes as her hand healed right in front of her. 

She could hear people pulling up and shouting greetings as they walked in the door. 

"What's that smell?" Scott shouted, skidding into the kitchen like a puppy. 

"Cookies," Erica dropped to the floor in the midst of the mess. covered in flour and cookie dough, and tried her hardest not to cry.

"What happened, Catwoman?" Stiles crouched beside her, gently touching her shoulder. She gestured wordlessly at the weird blob cookies scattered around the floor. Boyd followed after Scott, and it was the final straw. 

"Just leave me alone," she mumbled through her tears. 

"Nope," Boyd sat down beside her and tucked her into his side, letting her cry. He didn't say anything until she quietened down, his shoulder wet and maybe a little snotty.

"I just wanted to make you...everybody...something nice," she picked up a cookie and sniffed it. 

Boyd took it from her and put the whole thing in his mouth. "S'good." 

She narrowed her eyes at him, as he just popped another one in his mouth. He smiled and nodded. "Really."

She took another one and nibbled around the edges. It was probably the worst cookie she'd ever had in her life, taking some serious effort to swallow. Boyd went in for a third one before she knocked it out of his hand.

"You're such a liar." 

She slumped against him and laughed hard, filling up that hollow feeling she always had after a good cry, as Boyd just sat with her looking quietly pleased. 

"Let's clean it up and try again," he suggested. 

"You don't have to." 

"I know," he cupped her under the elbows and helped her up, dusting flour off her back and shoulders. 

Turns out she'd added 2 tablespoons of baking powder instead of 1/2 a teaspoon. She flushed at her mistake, but Boyd just laughed and fed her dough off a spoon. 

"My favorite is when it has nuts. Chocolate and walnuts are the best," she confided in him. 

The second batch was thankfully a success. Boyd had the gentlemanly grace to make it seem like Erica did all the work and she shot him a grateful smile as she double fisted two cookies.

***

Boyd cornered her at the end of the next pack meeting. Everyone was arguing about what movie to watch when he tugged her into the kitchen, pushing a tupperware into her hands.

"These are just for you. Not to share." 

She peeled off the lid and found it full of cookies that smelled mouthwatering. 

"You didn't have to."

"Try one," he urged, his hands clasped behind his back.

She fished one out and bit into it. "Walnuts!" she exclaimed around a mouthful, grinning at him.

"Yeah. You said they were your favorite so..." he trailed off, staring at her mouth.

She swallowed and licked her lips slowly. His eyes followed the movement and Erica suddenly felt herself sway forward.

"More cookies!" Stiles shouted as he barged into the kitchen, causing them to both jump apart.

"They're not for you," Boyd flashed his eyes at Stiles. 

"Okay, okay, I gotcha," Stiles placated as he edged around them to grab a soda from the fridge, backing out again. 

"Thank you," Erica hugged the box to her chest and Boyd smiled down at her.

"It's time to watch the movie!" Lydia shouts above everyone's conversations.

"Lemme hide these," she pushed them into her backpack and grabbed Boyd's hand. "You ready to watch the Notebook. Again?"

Boyd just laughed and let her pull him into the living room where they sat on the rug together, enduring the Notebook for the third time this month. 

***

Boyd was stumped. Part of Derek's advice had been to make the other wolf jealous. To smell like someone else would force the mate to stake a claim. But he didn't know who he was supposed to smell like. There was Lydia, who was terrifying, Malia, who was also terrifying in a mostly feral kind of way, or Allison who...well..let's just say he was still bitter about the arrows and electrified chains. 

Also, he wasn't comfortable pretending to like someone else. It was just asking for trouble. He wished he could just rub himself all over Erica instead. He was sure they'd almost kissed in the kitchen a few weeks ago. And again when she'd returned his tupperware filled with another batch of truly terrible cookies. They were like hockey pucks. But he'd eaten three of them and kicked Isaac in the shin when he'd started to complain about them. 

But since then...nothing. 

They were watching Pacific Rim and he knew Erica hated this movie. _It's just glorified rockem sockem robots._

But she was sitting right beside Stiles, asking him to explain stuff to her and giggling at his jokes. Fucking giggling. Stilinski wasn't that funny. She crossed her legs toward Stiles and began scratching her nails through his hair. At least Stiles had the decency to stutter and looked confused. He even attempted to wiggle away but Erica just shifted with him. 

Boyd's chest felt heavy and he clenched his fists. Erica had made no secret about her old crush on Stiles, but she always made it sound like old news and an excuse to make Stiles uncomfortable. But now it looked like she'd changed her mind. 

He was embarrassed to feel his claws lengthen, shredding the arms of the chair. He felt a growl building in his throat. He could even hear it from far away, as though he was outside his body but getting closer. A flash of dark fur skittered into the room. Ah. It wasn't him growling after all; it was Derek. Derek whose eyes were red, his whole body vibrating with anger. 

He jumped onto the couch, forcing himself between Erica and Stiles, stomping all over Stiles while he did it. 

"Dude, my nuts. Watch it!" Stiles tried to shove him off but only ended up pressed up against the corner of the couch with Derek laying out across him. His long body stretched over the rest of the couch. He laid his head down in Stiles' lap and used his hind legs to pushed a surprised Erica slowly across the couch until she tumbled off the edge. 

Everyone was completely silent with their mouths hanging open. Stiles heaved dramatically and banged his head against the back of the couch. 

"A little help here guys?" 

"Nope," Malia broke the silence, and suddenly everyone but Stiles was laughing. Derek ignored them all and closed his eyes as started snoring, his face a picture of contentment. 

Boyd reached down and helped Erica up, scooting over so she could squeeze into the chair with him. She was still laughing in little hiccups as she leaned into his bulk and Boyd relaxed back into the chair, turning his attention back to the movie.

"This is such a dumb movie," she complained loudly, ignoring Stiles' squawk of indignation.

Boyd just smiled to himself. 

***

Peter rolled his eyes and followed Derek's betas into the kitchen. They'd decided they both needed to refill the popcorn bowl but instead were just staring at each other with fucking heart eyes. He wasn't sure why he cared, but watching his nephew and Stiles dance around each other was frankly exhausting enough. He needed to step in and pull Boyd and Erica's heads out of their asses. The sexual tension was making him itch. 

"So. What's going on?"

Boyd just stared at him, utterly expressionless, and stepped between him and Erica.

"Oh please. She's too loud for my tastes. I like 'em quieter."

Erica rolled her eyes. "You're so creepy."

"Some people find me charming."

"They're lying," she shot back.

Peter smiled and tapped a finger against his chest. "No. They aren't, sweetheart. I can tell."

Boyd took a step closer but Peter just laughed, waving him away.

"I also like them unattached. Not interested in getting between you two."

They both sputtered denials and flushed red in unison. 

"So why haven't you made it official yet?" he asks, making an onoxious kissy face at them as he sipped his beer. 

"I've been trying!" Erica clamped her hand over her mouth and stared wide eyed at Boyd.

"You have?" Boyd turns back to her.

"Yeah," she twisted her finger around one of her curls as she chewed on her lip. "I was following all the mating rules Derek told me about."

Peter laughed so hard he snorted beer up his nose. He used his shirt to wipe his face off, finding the two betas staring at him as he dropped it back down.

"Derek? Told you about mating rules? And you listened?" 

They both frowned at him and nodded slowly. 

"My nephew who doesn't have the balls to admit, even to himself, that he's completely gone for our emmisary? You listened to him about love? Wow, he really picked some bright ones to gift with the bite."

"Hey fuck you," Erica flips him off. 

"Look. Allow me to let you both in on a secret, a secret from a werewolf who has had _actual_ relationships. Are you listening?" he paused for dramatic effect and then leaned in closer. "There are no mating rituals, you idiots." 

"What?" Boyd sounded unimpressed.

"Yup. You just ask them the fuck out. And if they like you, they say yes. And then you bump uglies. The end." 

Peter saluted them with his beer and slinked back out of the kitchen laughing.

***

"Well. This is embarrassing," Erica ran hands through her hair and tried her best not to look at Boyd. 

"He's right," Boyd tilted her chin up to look her in the eye as he smiled down at her. "We _are_ idiots."

"Hey," she whispers. 

"We could've just talked to each other and saved all this time."

She didn't know what to say to that, so she kissed him instead. With one hand on his chest for balance she reached up on her toes to press their lips together. Boyd didn't respond at first and she felt a flutter of panic before he wrapped his arms around her and opens his mouth up. He tasted like pizza, and his mouth was soft and warm. He squeezed her and lifted her closer so her feet were skimming the floor and all her weight was resting against him. 

"Finally!" Isaac shouted from the kitchen, as everyone else echoed him, and Scott wolf whistled at them. Erica laughed and buried her head in Boyd's chest as she heard Lydia shout at the pack to shut up and give them some privacy.

"Erica?"

She looked up at him, in awe at the redness of his mouth and the way his pupils were dilated. 

"Will you go out with me?"

"No way. I'm in it for the sex only." 

Boyd rumbled and squeezed a small _oof_ out of her.

"Yes. Of course! But also the sex." 

Boyd laughed and kissed her again.

"Just one thing," he nuzzled behind her ear, making her shiver.

"Anything."

"Please don't try and bake for me ever again."

She could hear Isaac piping up again from the other room" I second that," followed by the sound of Lydia smacking him.

"Let's get out of here. Find some actual privacy."

"Yeah. I like the sound of that."

**Author's Note:**

> So the cookie thing actually happened to me my first week of culinary school. Made a fantastic impression on my Chef. Good times. I chose this prompt because I've never written Berica or a het pairing at all. So it was fun to stretch my writing wings.  
> Come see my [tumblr!](http://www.sweetbutterbliss.tumblr.com) I'm also one half of the team at [wheredidhiseyebrowsgo.](http://www.wheredidhiseyebrowsgo.tumblr.com) Come ask us to find fic!


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